Foster and Partner's carbon-neutral <a href="http://inhabitat.com/foster-partners-inaugurate-solar-powered-masdar-institute/">Masdar City</a> is springing to life in Abu Dhabi, and we recently had a chance to take a first-hand look inside this ambitious sustainable development! Just last Friday we checked out the city's first eco street fair and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/listing/fresh-start-organic-market-and-eatery/">Organic Market</a> -- a family affair complete with cotton candy, clowns, and princess fairies that also gave locals and visitors their first glimpse of some of the world’s most advanced architectural and cleantech developments. It also gave eco-businesses and organizations, such as the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/the-land-art-generator-initiative-combines-art-with-energy-creation/">Land Art Generator Initiative</a>, an opportunity to strut their good green stuff - read on for a first look!

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

For the first time, visitors were able to experience firsthand Masdar's enigmatic green buildings.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

The Market @ Masdar kicked off at 10am on Friday. After parking their lowly fossil-fueled vehicles in the entrance parking lot, visitors rode driverless pod cars through a rather dull (but prefabricated and low impact concrete lot) to what will be the center of a more complete, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/masdar-personal-rapid-transit-system/">future Masdar City</a>.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

The red undulating facade is modeled after traditional Arab architecture.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Several small-scale alternative energy projects have been realized, including these solar roof panels.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

The narrow walkways are shaded, keeping it cool in the desert just outside of Abu Dhabi.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Masdar organizers showed off several clean technologies, including this solar dish that generates mechanical energy.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Misters keep kids cool!

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Kids levitate balloons on the misters.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Masdar has experimented with a series of interesting facades that prevent solar gain.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Made with glass reinforced concrete and recycled aluminum, the learning center is especially "futuristic."

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

The inside of the water tower.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

A sneak peak at the various sun-deflecting facades before the hordes flocked in.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Despite what became a hot day, the walkways really were cool.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

This solar dish is boiling a cup of coffee!

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

The driverless pod car is propelled by electricity.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

A long line of people queue to ride a pod car back to their own fossil-fueled vehicles.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

The beginning of the large solar field that will provide much of Masdar City's electricity.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

These goats were standing under the hot sun, until a German photographer told Mazaraa farm to put them in the shade.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

The organic market at Masdar was packed.

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Masdar City Market Street Fair

Foster and Partner's carbon-neutral Masdar City is springing to life in Abu Dhabi, and we recently had a chance to take a first-hand look inside this ambitious sustainable development! Just last Friday we checked out the city's first eco street fair and Organic Market -- a family affair complete with cotton candy, clowns, and princess fairies that also gave locals and visitors their first glimpse of some of the world’s most advanced architectural and cleantech developments. It also gave eco-businesses and organizations, such as the Land Art Generator Initiative, an opportunity to strut their good green stuff - read on for a first look!